Pain in the neck... literally

[Badly Drawn Girl]

Good Lord... so my main area of pain is through my shoulders, radiating up my neck and through my head. I'm prone to headaches and have a tendency to pop my right shoulder out of place. Trying to sleep is very difficult because everything hurts to the touch, and I have to spend a good half hour making sure everything is supported properly.

I got online about an hour ago and just woke up with a start. My head pressing into the computer desk. lmao Could there be a worse position for me? I can't believe I nodded off like that. Thank God my kids didn't see me. I'd never hear the end of it. This methadone is pretty sneaky stuff. I feel great one minute and then I'm gone.

For those with experience, if I'm starting to nod off like this regularly, should I cut back? I started out by taking 10mg a day (last week). Now I'm taking 25mg a day (after that initial honeymoon period, I'm finding it's not helping much with my pain issues) and I realize it builds up in your system. WWYD? Cut back down until I can remain conscious?

[goagirl23]

I have been on Methadone a few times and I never really thought of it as a pain killer. Since it seems that you are feeling the same way I would definatley decrease the dosage. It really does make you tired and you build up a tolerence just like any other medication. I strictly use it for withdrawls since it does provide enough pain relief to function properly and you definatley get a good night of sleep as well as a few during the day. I usually try to take as little as possible and decrease as fast as I can because the effects for me are not particularly enjoyable. Good luck....

[HistoryofMadness]

Yes, if you are getting drowsy and/or nodding, cut back, and I'd do it quickly because you're body will adjust to that amount fast.

[candy]

Cut back on the Methadone. Did you increase the amount as directed by your doc or was the 10mg not covering your pain. 25mg of Methadone can be a high dose for someone without a tolerance to opiates or for someone who has not taken Methadone before.
Methadone is being used more often by docs these days, I am curious what pain meds you were on before the doc prescribed Methadone? I think it is great that docs are using Methadone more often, but there can be some drawbacks. Withdrawal can be quite severe and last longer than shorter acting opiates. While it's use for chronic pain is somewhat ideal, not all docs are aware of the long withdrawal it can have if stopped abrubtly and it should be gradually decreased over a long period.

Stay with the 10mg for a week or so and see how that manages your pain. Because Methadone is a long acting opioid you want to increase it after a week or so if it is not managing your pain and I would increase it 5mg at a time if you can. It also may take a few days to see the desired effect, so try and hang in there and see if 10mg does the job in managing your pain.

Sorry I did not get the post until today. I have been away for the past few days and not online.

Let us know how your doing!

[musingpoet]

My supply of methadone came from my pain doctor. And yes- I did have an opiate tolerance so he started me on the 80 mg wafers and stopped all other drugs. Within a week I was tired to the point of sleeping more than not, erratic dreams, and yet, while I felt no w/d from the high does of opiates, I felt odd, and my pain was suppressed but not gone. After about 6 montes, I went back to Oxy. If methadone works for some, then fantastic, stay with it. My experience was just not a good one and to be honest, I missed the feeling of the opiates, where methadone seems to block the effects of opiates. I have had several friends experience the same thing, and they went back to their old regimine as well. I had a full bottle left and was asked by some for a wafer or two so they could go through 'withdrawels', and I would have been fine with that, but, I did not give them out as my doc and the info I read said you must be able to tolerate opiates to take the methadone, and some of these ppl had never taken an opiate. I will go through anything again, but not methadone. Anyone else experience bad dreams, or am I am on my own on that? My personal belief on methadone is that it is not an alternative, but another medication that over time will become more difficult to detox from than some more serious opiates. I assume that since I switched back to my Oxy that I did go through with drawel. In my experience, no w/drawel was felt. Is this a doc or clinic that you get it from? Hope your pain goes agay...:) .

[Canis aureus]

I have heard that some gets nightmarres from methadone. You are not the only one; indeed, there are several who are on MMT and see nightmares in every single night. Ihat could be horrible, and the most probably is!

I have very vivid and lively dreams but notnightmares, and I think that it is something which just methadone causes. the worst dream of mine is that I'm using needle and spoon again, and when I wake up, I start to check my arms in almost panic. The other is that I have take homes and there is something wrong in the bottles and they have emptied by themselves and I must go to clinic and start to explain and no one, of course, would not believe me... and while I don't take those as nightmares, I could understand and figure what it is to see real bad dreams.

[poppy]

I did not give them out as my doc and the info I read said you must be able to tolerate opiates to take the methadone, and some of these ppl had never taken an opiate
Hi Musing Poet, thank heavens you used your head didn't give the meth out to your friends who were asking for it, it could easily have been fatal. By the way could someone enlighten me on exactly what you mean by methadone wafer. Its a name I've never come accross despite being on a meth script for a long time. Here in the uk (as far as I know)we have methadone tablets, medicine, and injectable ampoules. (sorry if someone has already explained this before!)
Also I can't say I've had any trouble with dreams/nightmares from methadone but I'm on methadone for heroin addiction not for a way to relieve chronic pain so maybe that makes a difference.

[Coddfish]

Hi Musing Poet, thank heavens you used your head didn't give the meth out to your friends who were asking for it, it could easily have been fatal. By the way could someone enlighten me on exactly what you mean by methadone wafer. Its a name I've never come accross despite being on a meth script for a long time. Here in the uk (as far as I know)we have methadone tablets, medicine, and injectable ampoules. (sorry if someone has already explained this before!)
Also I can't say I've had any trouble with dreams/nightmares from methadone but I'm on methadone for heroin addiction not for a way to relieve chronic pain so maybe that makes a difference.
I agree, Methadone is VERY easy to od on if you aren't experienced. Giving wafers to a newbie is a manslaughter charge (or something like that) waiting to happen.

Poppy, wafers are large tablety things. The only ones I have had experience with are 40mg wafers. Thay are white, and my old done clinic used to break those up and put the crushed powder in OJ for it's patients. They have buffers and stuff so as to be unshootable.

[devilsdrug]

yeh what cod said the ones ive seen have a cross so you can split into ten mg chunks they are also called diskettes i think